The present invention relates to locks, and more particularly relates to slam bolt locks.
Slam bolts are well known and are typically characterized by bolts that retract in response to impacts with door jambs.
Household doors are a familiar example of slam bolts. An open door can be pushed closed without manually retracting the bolt; the doorjamb pushes the bolt into the door (against a spring biasing force), permitting closure of the door.
Household doors typically employ one-way slam boltsxe2x80x94the bolt is beveled on just one side. By beveling the bolt on both sides, a two-way slam bolt is achieved. If such a bolt is used on a household door, not only can the door be pushed closed, the door can also be pushed open. Either movement pushes the bolt into the door (by force of the door jamb against the beveled bolt face). Although not typically used in household doors, such two-way slam bolts are commonly used in other contexts.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a two-way slam bolt is improved by locking the bolt against retraction when impacted on one side by a door jamb, while still permitting free retraction when impacted on the other side.
The foregoing and other features and advantages of the present invention will be more readily apparent from the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.